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Cano, Francisco pace Yankees' offense in victory

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By Rhett Bollinger
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MLB.com |

FORT MYERS, Fla. -- Robinson Cano drove home two runs and Ben Francisco laced a go-ahead RBI single in the eighth inning to help lead the Yankees to a 9-7 win over the Twins on Friday in front of a record crowd of 8,366 at Hammond Stadium.

Cano, serving as the designated hitter, went 1-for-2 with an RBI double and a sacrifice fly in his second game back with the Yankees after helping lead the Dominican Republic to the World Baseball Classic title.

But it was Francisco who came up with the go-ahead hit, as his RBI single in the eighth off left-hander Tyler Robertson gave New York the lead. The Yankees added three more runs that inning off Robertson to put the game out of reach for the Twins.

Right-hander Ivan Nova started for the Yankees and gave up five runs (four earned) on seven hits and a walk over 5 1/3 innings.

He served up back-to-back homers to Justin Morneau and Ryan Doumit in a three-run second inning for the Twins. Brandon Boggs also brought home a run that inning on an RBI single.

The Yankees roughed up right-hander Vance Worley, who allowed five runs (four earned) on eight hits over five innings.

"Early on, I was just a little up in the zone," Worley said. "Later on, I was able to get the ball down and get ground balls and they weren't tagging it as hard."

Yankees second baseman Corban Joseph had an RBI triple and a double, while Juan Rivera had an RBI single in the fifth.

Twins third baseman Trevor Plouffe, playing in his first game since March 8 because of a strained right calf, went 2-for-3 in his return. Doumit went 2-for-2 with a walk and scored three runs.

Up next: Left-hander Andy Pettitte makes his second start of the spring when the Yankees take on the Tigers in Lakeland, Fla., on Saturday at 1:05 p.m. ET.